Hawks Backmen

[GCSkiwi]

With all the discussion on whether to Start Buddy due to the hawks tough opening, I'm a little surprised there has been little talk about the opposite end of the field. Lots of talk about Yarran or Atley at D4 for quite a few teams, I'm taking a strong look at Brian Lake. Birchall will make quite a lot of teams simply because he is one of the few top backs, but there's also Lake and Suckling which might not end up at the top, but are fairly solid performers. I don't see a reason for Suckling to take off this year but what about Lake, in a new team - could he get back to the likes of a 100 average? Could be a nice POD... even if a little more than Yarran or Atley, 430k. Definitely one to think about for those that have Broughton at D4...

[tor01doc]

My thinking is that his role will be more a shut down the big guys and lead by taking responsibility for his player.

The likelihood of him leaving his opponent to run through the mids and depriving the Sucklings, the Birchalls, the Guerras and the Burgoynes (courtesy Gary Ayres) of the ball seems remote.

He'll take a few grabs but I can't see him taking too many risks and running off.

Also, he is a bit older and already has a sore calf it appears.

May average a little bit more than the Atleys, the Yarrans and the Broughtons but at a higher price than most and maybe higher risk.